Durham County, Luther, and Murder She Wrote, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive selections of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling two series being released this week.

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Durham County stars Hugh Dillon as Mike Sweeney, a homicide detective who, after his partner is killed, moves his family from Toronto to rural Durham County.

In the second season of the series, Dillon has fallen for Penelope Verrity (Michelle Forbes), a forensic psychiatrist that he begins to suspect may have murdered her daughter.

The Durham County: Season Two DVD set of 2 discs contain the 6 episodes that originally aired during the summer of 2009.

A third season of 6 episodes began airing on CTV in Canada in October 2010.

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Idris Elba stars as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, a self-destructive near-genius, who might just be as dangerous as the depraved criminals he hunts in the BBC series Luther.

The series uses an inverted story format (a plot device most commonly employed by Columbo) in which the identity of the killer is known at the start of the episode.

The Luther: Series One DVD set of 2 discs contain the 6 episodes that originally aired during May and June 2010. The series began airing in the US on BBC America last month.

The network has ordered a second season of 6 episodes.

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The classic series Murder, She Wrote comes to a close with its twelfth season. Starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher, the series aired on CBS from 1984 through 1996.

From the shadowy nooks of hometown Cabot Cove (Maine) to crime scenes as far away as Ireland and Australia, Jessica’s hot on the trail of some of the most deliberate criminals yet. With danger at every turn, Jessica will need all her wits and ingenuity to get safely to the final page.

The Murder, She Wrote: Season Twelve DVD set of 5 discs contain the 24 episodes that originally aired from September 1995 through May 1996.

This is not, however, the last we'll see of the beloved amateur sleuth: four made-for-television movies were produced and aired subsequent to the close of the series.

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for November 22, 2010

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

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This week's letters and mystery clue:

A G H L K O S T W

This 2008 thriller by Brian Keene features haunted attraction designer Ken Ripple.

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

Additional Adaptations of Agatha Christie's Poirot Planned for David Suchet

For most of this year, David Suchet's future as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot has been in doubt. The Belgian private detective appeared in 33 novels and 51 short stories by Agatha Christie from 1920 to 1975, and Suchet has starred in television adaptations since 1989 of all but six.

In January, ITV neglected to mention the series in its future plans. At the time, Suchet said, "I'm pragmatic and accept that things get cancelled. Of course there are cutbacks in TV drama and if it is not to be, it is not to be. I will have to be a big boy and accept it."

In April, Suchet said, "I only have six more stories to do and that will be the complete works of Hercule Poirot. I'm desperate to do it, while God gives me life."

And yet, no word from ITV.

Until now.

The Sunday Express is reporting that the producers have confirmed a 13th season of the series will air sometime in 2011. Left unstated is how many of the six remaining stories will be adapted. (There are four novels: The Big Four, Dead Man's Folly, Elephants Can Remember, and Curtain; a short story collection, The Labours of Hercules; and the play Black Coffee. What becomes of an early short story, "The Lemesurier Inheritance", is unclear as Suchet never refers to it.) The 12th season of Agatha Christie's Poirot included four episodes.

Jorge Garcia Cast in Lead Role in J. J. Abrams' Series Pilot Alcatraz

A couple of months ago we learned Fox had ordered a pilot from J. J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) involving the a team of FBI agents tracking down a group of Alcatraz prisoners -- and their guards -- who disappeared 30 years ago.

Today Deadline|Hollywood is reporting that Lost alumnus Jorge Garcia has been cast in a lead role as Dr. Diego Soto, the "world's foremost expert on Alcatraz."

Filming on the series pilot, simply titled Alcatraz, is expected to begin in January in Vancouver and San Francisco.

Help Dorothy Find Her Way Home in Fiction Fixers: The Curse of Oz, A New Game of Suspense from BFG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

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The Land of Oz is in great peril in the exciting second game of this literary-based series!

An evil man has erected towers that consume the people, light, and energy of Oz itself. Protect Dorothy and Toto as they travel across Oz in hopes of finding a way home to Kansas. Team up with the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Lion and use their powers to overcome great obstacles. But beware of the Wicked Witch and Victor Vile! It’s up to you to save Dorothy and the Land of Oz in this fun hidden object adventure game.

See also the first game in the series, Fiction Fixers: Adventures in Wonderland.

Fiction Fixers: The Curse of Oz may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (414.18 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any standard game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)

Read Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!

Discover a Haunting History in Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera, New from BFG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

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The ruins of the opera house stand as a tomb to unrequited love. Though long abandoned, an undying ghost still wanders its halls, plotting the return of his heart’s desire. Discover the history that haunts the opera house and face all of its challenges. Confront the man behind the mask and complete the final act in this mysterious hidden object adventure game!

This is the standard version of the game. For a more in-depth gaming experience, check out the Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera Collector's Edition that includes a bonus quest and gameplay, an integrated strategy guide, and more!

Also available: Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera for the Mac.

Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (336.50 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any standard game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)

Read Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!

Teaser Trailer Released for Film Adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Lionsgate Films has released a teaser trailer for the film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. Winner of the 2006 Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel and the 2006 Shamus Award for Best P. I. Hardcover, The Lincoln Lawyer introduced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller (played by Matthew McConaughey in the film).

Haller has spent most of his career defending garden-variety criminals, operating from the back of his Lincoln Town Car, until he lands the case of his career: defending Louis Roulet, a Beverly Hills playboy accused of rape and attempted murder. But the seemingly straightforward case suddenly develops into a deadly game of survival for Haller.

The film also stars Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy and Josh Lucas.

Watch the trailer below (via Yahoo! Movies):

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 The Videogame, Now Available to Download from AVG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce this week's new mystery and suspense casual and adventure games available for immediate download from Amazon Video Games.

A complete list of downloadable mystery games is available on our Games of Mystery: Amazon Video Games Download page.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

The time for learning is over. The time to meet your destiny has arrived. The Harry Potter saga builds to its thrilling conclusion in this game based on the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. The stakes have never been higher for Harry, and this latest game takes the franchise in a new direction centered on furious wand-based combat.

You're on the run right from the start in a desperate quest to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. Battle Dementors, Death Eaters, and other powerful enemies with only your wand to help you. Use potions, your Invisibility Cloak, and more while you stare down your destiny as the only one who can defeat Voldemort.

ESRB Rating: Teen.

Windows Vista/XP (7010 MB download).

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, and more mysterious fun!

Mystery Bestsellers for November 19, 2010

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending November 19th, 2010 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

We're beginning to think The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson may never move out of the top spot on our list! Maybe the only new title to enter the list this week will challenge it.

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The 17th Alex Cross thriller, Cross Fire by James Patterson, debuts in the top 10.

Wedding bells ring ...

Detective Alex Cross and Bree's wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington D.C.'s most corrupt: a dirty congressmen and an underhanded lobbyist. Next, the elusive gunman begins picking off other crooked politicians, sparking a blaze of theories--is the marksman a hero or a vigilante?

A murderer returns ...

The case explodes, and the FBI assigns agent Max Siegel to the investigation. As Alex and Siegel battle over jurisdiction, the murders continue. It becomes clear that they are the work of a professional who has detailed knowledge of his victims' movements--information that only a Washington insider could possess.

Caught in a lethal cross fire ...

As Alex contends with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in D.C. and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross and his family for good.

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The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

Mr. E. Reviews Sherlock Season One

Back in December 2008, the BBC issued a press release announcing the network had commissioned a pilot for a contemporary update of Sherlock Holmes, calling it "a thrilling, funny, fast-paced take on the crime drama genre set in present day London." I said at the time that I was "not altogether thrilled by this description." Well, I would be wrong. Sherlock is creative and innovative with well written scripts and a great look yet still respects the characters originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle more than 100 years ago.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews: Sherlock.

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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.

Angela Bassett to Star in ABC Pilot One Police Plaza

Earlier this month we reported that ABC was developing a pilot for One Police Plaza, to be written by crime novelist Linda Fairstein (Alexandra "Alex" Cooper mysteries).

Now Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Angela Bassett will play the lead as New York City's first female police commissioner. The series, should it make it on the network's schedule, will be executive produced by Mark Gordon and Deborah Spera (Criminal Minds), and Fairstein.

eHarlequin Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense Titles for December 2010

eHarlequin.com has released the December 2010 titles in their Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense series. Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense books combine suspense, romance, hope and faith to create a unique page-turning series that today’s readers love. To purchase any of the books below, click on the book title. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

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Night Prey by Sharon Dunn

"Stay off the King Ranch."

Jenna Murphy wants to ignore the anonymous, puzzling note. How could she leave the work she loves at the ranch's Birds of Prey Rescue Center? But when someone attacks the birds under her care, she starts to worry. And when Jenna is attacked, she knows she's in over her head. She never expected Keith Roland to come to her rescue. They were childhood friends before he fell in with the wrong crowd. Now the former troublemaker is a soldier, and a changed man. Yet has he really reformed? Can Jenna truly trust him with her safety—and her heart?

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Yuletide Defender by Sandra Robbins

Is a vigilante responsible for the murders of Lake City gang members? According to reporter Rachel Long's anonymous source, yes. The goal is to trigger a gang war—and her investigations lead Rachel to the heart of the battlegrounds. Which is where she finds handsome officer Matthew Franklin. The protective cop wants her out of harm's way. But she needs the raise from a big story to secure care for her special-needs sister. Rachel won't walk away, even though the vigilante is now aiming at a determined reporter—and a tailing cop—for a showdown just in time for Christmas.

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The Soldier's Mission by Lenora Worth

Counseling is more than Laura Walton's job—it's her calling. So when Luke Martinez hangs up abruptly after calling the hotline where she works, Laura won't let it go. She tracks Luke to the Grand Canyon, little knowing she's walking into a heap of trouble. Laura's not the only one tracking Luke, and while she came to help him heal, his other pursuer has murder in mind. Luke thinks he has nothing left to lose until Laura makes him believe—and love—again. Just in time, too, since he'll need all his faith to face this last enemy.

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Christmas Bodyguard by Margaret Daley

Someone's after wealthy Texan Slade Caulder's daughter. Desperate to keep her safe while he determines the motive, the widowed father hires a bodyguard for Abbey. A female bodyguard, with the training to protect the girl—and an understanding of a willful teenager who keeps trying to outsmart her. Elizabeth Walker is the perfect combination of caring and toughness for her job. But as the holidays approach, the stalker's threats escalate. And Slade finds himself willing to risk everything to keep his Christmas bodyguard by his side … forever.

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Keep up to date by subscribing to eHarlequin.com's free newsletter that contains the latest information about their series of books as well as informing you about subscriber-only special offers and new products. Click on the banner below to subscribe for free:

Sara Paretsky Named 2011 Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America

In a press release this morning, the Mystery Writers of America announced that the organization had chosen Sara Paretsky as its 2011 Grand Master. MWA's Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. Ms. Paretsky will be presented with her award at The Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, April 28, 2011.

Paretsky is the author of the V. I. Warshawski mysteries. The second book in the series, Deadlock, was named one of the Booksellers' 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century, with Blacklist, the 11th, winning the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger Award in 2004. Paretsky is also the recipient of the CWA Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement.

The MWA also announced that two bookstores will receive the 2011 Raven Award: Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis (MN) and Centuries and Sleuths in Chicago (IL).

Velocity by Alan Jacobson (Book Review)

Velocity by Alan Jacobson. A Karen Vail Mystery. Vanguard Press Hardcover, October 2010.

A more descriptive title for this thriller might be Extreme Velocity. The narrative moves along at breakneck speed; readers may find themselves involuntarily breathing faster in a feeble attempt to keep up.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Velocity by Alan Jacobson.

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Read the first chapters of Velocity below.

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Explore an Old Haunted Mansion in Fear for Sale: Mystery of McInroy Manor, Collector's Edition, New from BFG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

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Emma Roberts has been assigned to write a story about an old haunted manor for Fear for Sale Magazine. The estate has been locked up for years, but a sizable donation from Emma’s editor has opened up the home for exploration. Unravel the tale of the demise of the McInroy family, and set their souls free in this dark and mysterious hidden object adventure game.

This is a special Collector's Edition release full of exclusive extras not available in the standard version including bonus gameplay, an in-game strategy guide, screensavers and wallpapers.

Fear for Sale: Mystery of McInroy Manor, Collector's Edition may be downloaded and purchased for $13.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (146.92 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour; the full version is 217.91 MB.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any standard game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)

Read Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!